NFL Football, MLB Baseball, NBA Basketball, NHL Hockey

Sunday’s schedule for lucky hometown early-kickoff consumers includes just one game of eight between winning teams, Vikings at Panthers.
The rest? Not a winning team among the 14!

As customers are prodded by the NFL to wake up to this reality, diminished returns are guaranteed. Learning to live without becomes inevitable.

While the Vikings offense figures out how to score points, might we suggest featuring Jerick McKinnon more often. Worst case, just line up in punt formation, have McKinnon stand 40 yards behind the line of scrimmage and tell him to pretend he’s returning a kick.

In the days and weeks leading up to the 2017 NFL Draft, Reuben Foster was considered a top-10 talent, but he was sent home from the combine for a verbal altercation with a hospital Shamar Stephen Jersey employee and it was later discovered that he failed a drug test at the combine due to a diluted sample. When it was all said and done, Foster didn’t hear his name called until the 49ers traded up late in the first round and grabbed him with the 31st pick.

Authentic Womens Wayne Gallman Jersey The Redskins’ health is not helping them at this critical time, either, and fellow linemen also are hurting 锟斤拷 guard Brandon Scherff (knee), center Spencer Long (knee/quad) and right tackle Morgan Moses (both ankles).

Authentic Womens Patrick Chung Jersey The Cowboys are coming off their most dominant performance of the season, a 40-10 rout of the winless 49ers. We’ll know a lot more about the Cowboys through their next four games, including Sunday at Washington. They have games against the Chiefs, Falcons and Eagles in the following weeks.

Enough with the talk about him not being a conventional pocket passer and his skill-set being such that a team would have to change its offense for its backup quarterback if he were to be signed and forced into playing. Okay, fine. Teams tweak their offenses all the time. It’s called coaching.

That’s because Chad Henne could not play well enough to take the starting job despite Bortles’s ever-accumulating, on-field miseries. Tom Coughlin, the former two-time Super Bowl-winning coach for the New York Giants now in the Jaguars’ front office, won’t even say publicly why he’s not interested in Kaepernick.

The Eagles have fortified the offense around their second-year QB, Carson Wentz, and they presumably will have tackle Lane Johnson available all season after he missed much of last season while on suspension. Assuming that Wentz is better, this offense will be better and the team should be better as a whole. But it still might be difficult to leapfrog the Giants and Cowboys in the division.
Can Gase work his QB magic again with Cutler? Either way, it’s next to impossible to envision the Dolphins either overtaking the Patriots or falling below the Bills and Jets in the AFC East.

Does Carson Palmer have one more very good season left in him? The Cardinals need the 2015 version of Palmer if they’re going to be a threat to the Seahawks in the NFC West. That might be asking too much, though.T.J. McDonald Game JerseyTorey Krug Game Jersey He remains unsigned Womens Ryan Ellis Jersey and has filed a complaint that team owners colluded against him because of the protests 锟斤拷 aimed at police brutality against African-Americans and other issues.

This irresponsible comment came a week removed from the community college shooting tragedy in Oregon. And it came from a guy who, among a list of domestic abuse charges, was accused of throwing his ex-girlfriend, Nicole Holder, on a futon piled with guns. Hardy initially was found guilty of assault, but the case was dismissed on appeal when the accuser could not be found to testify.

The NFL has no idea how to handle players who have committed heinous acts: Chapter 1,000.
The league’s finger-wagging extends to prospective professional players, with problematic college athletes being denied entry into the Scouting Combine that begins on Feb. 28.

Joe Mixon, a star running back out of Oklahoma, and Ishmael Zamora, a Baylor wide receiver, will not take part in the biggest job fair and meat market that the league offers, according to multiple reports.

I’m going to tell them the complete truth, Mixon told ESPN Tim Tebow Jersey last month after announcing he would go pro. That it’s never OK to be in the situation I was in or to ever hit a woman. I’m looking for them to get to know the actual me.

Even if the NFL’s tacit intent is to make it extra-difficult to justify drafting Mixon or Zamora, the players become the kind of wild cards we saw last year with Tyreek Hill.

Limited Kurt Warner Jersey O’Callaghan, a former New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman who retired in 2011 after four pro seasons, came out as gay in an Outsports feature published Tuesday.

O’Callaghan, now 33, had a plan: He would hide his sexuality for as long as he could play football. And when his career was over, he would end his life.

As he climbed the football ladder, blocking for Aaron Rodgers at the University of California and becoming a 2006 fifth-round draft pick by New England, where he would block for Tom Brady, the impending suicide kept getting delayed 鈥?until the select few to whom he bared his heart saved his life.

Apart from the constant talk of women and sex, O’Callaghan said he felt mostly comfortable with the Patriots, a franchise that serves as the paragon of a league that demands its players be invisible. When O’Callaghan’s injuries piled up, the Patriots cut him before the start of the 2009 season. But Scott Pioli, the former Patriots vice president of player personnel, had become the Chiefs GM, and was a fan.Authentic Youth Jatavis Brown Jersey

Martez Carter, RB, Grambling — After rushing for 854 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior, Carter was impressive at the NFLPA Bowl. He ran for 45 yards on 10 carries, displaying power despite a 5-9, 205-pound frame. He has great balance with a low center of gravity. He also showed off quick feet and adept hands while catching the ball out of the backfield. Carter ran for 2,628 yards and 29 touchdowns and caught 74 passes for 961 yards and nine scores over his college career.

Steven Dunbar, WR, Houston — The 6-3, 202-pound Dunbar had a productive college career with 180 catches for 2,430 yards and 11 touchdowns. He had a great week of practice at the Shrine Game in St. Petersburg, showing off superb hands. He caught three passes for 52 yards, including an athletic touchdown to lift the West to a 14-10 win.

Now established as one of the league’s best tackles, Johnson was key for an Eagles team that lost left tackle Jason Peters to an injury during the season.

The middle man on the Vikings’ defensive front has been an absolute force against the run in 2017. The eighth-year defensive tackle is one of the best in the business in that regard.

The 30-year-old safety, who’s in his ninth NFL season (fourth with the Eagles), was selected to just his second Pro Bowl in 2017, but he certainly earned it. Jenkins added a couple interceptions, eight passes defensed, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and 57 tackles to his career totals.

Bill Belichick was outmaneuvered by Adam Gase. Tom Brady was outplayed by Jay Cutler. Nothing was very Patriot-like for the Patriots on Monday night in Miami and they suffered their nearly annual loss there. But it really makes little difference in the big picture. If the Patriots go to Pittsburgh and win Sunday, they will leapfrog the Steelers for the top seed in the AFC playoffs based on the head-to-head victory.

We chose to kneel because it’s a respectful gesture, Reid wrote Monday in a New York Times op-ed. I remember thinking our posture was like a flag flown at half-mast to mark a tragedy. Reid still has a job in the NFL. Kaepernick became a symbol because he was first, and he does not.
I can’t find words that appropriately express how heartbroken I am to see the constant smears against Colin, a person who helped start the movement with only the very best of intentions, Reid went on to write.

Case Keenum is on the brink of playing well enough to take Minnesota to the Super Bowl. But he, along with Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater, are set to Germain Ifedi Womens Jersey be unrestricted free agents. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur is reportedly also about to create a vacancy in Minnesota if he becomes the new Giants head coach.

It’s weird to think a team that could win it all this year might actually upgrade at QB, but the Vikings have an opportunity post-Shurmur to turn to a West Coast coordinator with the intent of pairing with him Cousins. Money isn’t an issue, as the Vikings would be about $57 million under the cap.

The Vikings are built to keep winning, and Cousins offers a polished option who would work well with their talent at wide receiver, running back and tight end.

Game Womens Patrick Mahomes II Jersey Let’s start with assessments on each quarterback in attendance — using their Scouts Inc. rankings — then hit the best of the rest, and we’re including which team each prospect is playing for and what number they’re wearing. Let’s run through 1-40, in no particular order:

Expectations are different for every quarterback who accepts an invite to Mobile. With that in mind, ESPN NFL draft expert Todd McShay is keeping an eye on different things depending on the prospect and his opportunity. Here’s what he’s hoping to see out of every signal-caller this week:

The exits of McDaniels and Patricia could come at a similarly high point of the Patriots’ extended run of prosperity. They host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday in the AFC championship game and are two victories from what would be their third Super Bowl title in four seasons.Game Womens Zach Ertz Jersey

Elite Mens Karl Mecklenburg Jersey Some will dismiss Cousins’s performance due to a lack of wins relative to his peers, but it is silly to assign quarterbacks wins and losses as if they have total control over the outcome of the game. Instead, it is more instructive to look at how often the passing game scores on each play compared to other offenses in the same situation. For example, with Cousins at the helm, Washington has scored 8.5 points per game more than expected based on each play’s down, distance and field position. Since 2015, only the New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers have exceeded expectations by more points per game due to their ability to pass the ball.
Only 11 percent of black respondents agree with Trump about the reasons for the protests, according to a CBS/YouGov poll with a large majority 锟斤拷 88 percent 锟斤拷 acknowledging what Kaepernick originally claimed: The protests are aimed at bringing attention to unfair policing.

With Gronkowski nursing a head injury, New England desperately needed Dion Lewis to maintain the white-hot hand he had been boasting for the past month. Instead, Authentic Matt Moore Jersey Jacksonville’s speedy defense bottled up the ultra-elusive tailback at the line of scrimmage and after the catch, showing superlative tackle form on first contact. Lewis’ lack of playmaking ability left Brady leading a one-dimensional offense for the game’s entirety. Worse, a blindspot in Lewis’ peripheral vision allowed Myles Jack to strip the ball on a trick play that would put the Patriots in field-goal territory late in the third quarter. The Pats will need more production out of the Lewis-James White-Rex Burkhead backfield trio against the stifling defense of the NFC champions.

Matt Murray Mens Jersey With the exception of a bad drop by Cooks in the third quarter, New England’s underappreciated wideouts surprisingly came out on top in their battle versus Jacksonville’s daunting pass defense. Stretching the field versus A.J. Bouye, Jalen Ramsey and even overmatched linebacker Telvin Smith, Cooks drew 68 yards in pass-interference penalties to go with 100 receiving yards on six receptions. Colts castoff Phillip Dorsett came through with a highlight of his own, pulling down a 31-yard flea flicker over Myles Jack.

A proposed meeting Monday between the NFL and a group of players, meant to address issues underlying the ongoing protests during the national anthem, was canceled, but both sides are saying they want to continue the dialogue. Meanwhile, Colin Kaepernick would simply like to be included in that dialogue.
Timberlake followed that up with an interview with Mike Tirico at halftime of NBC’s Sunday Night Football, with that network set to televise this season’s Super Bowl. The conversation did not take long to get to the wardrobe thing, and Timberlake said, That won’t happen this time. 锟斤拷 No, Mike, that’s not going to happen.

The Jaguars were playing the Patriots – no shame in losing to a team that has been winning these games for years – Coaches on both sides will break this game down play by play and find little mistakes the Jaguars made that cost them the game.

Still, this will be a tough one for the Jaguars to get past in the offseason. Jacksonville has now lost all three AFC championships in which it has played, previously losing to the Authentic Matt Judon Jersey Patriots in 1996 and Titans in 1999. Yet with that aggressive D, a much-improved Bortles and Fournette, they could be back in the title game next season.

Nothing is set, but the league is eager to continue the dialogue with the players, an NFL spokesman told the AP. We would welcome Colin at a meeting, but it’s the players who are extending the invitations.Limited David Robertson JerseyLimited Womens Robert Woods Jersey In the email to Jenkins, Kaepernick’s lawyer wrote, It remains inconceivable that actual progress can or will be made at these player meetings if discussions regarding certain ideas and platforms which Mr. Kaepernick has led and created are discussed and negotiated without Mr. Kaepernick being present. He added that the free agent quarterback is open to participating in, and discussing the ideas he has led, at the next meeting in a meaningful way.

“There were times it looked like we didn’t want to play. Including me,” said Donavan Mitchell, who was held to 13 points by Bazemore.

Battling a hand injury, Prince had hit 7 of 24 shots for 17 points over the last four games. He made 6 of 11 — including a couple of 3s — against the Jazz.

“It’s OK to get tired of yourself sometimes,” Prince said. “You’ve just to work through it. I’ve got to continue to take my shots and continue to play defense.”

He is back where he belongs in the college game. He will attempt to replicate his success at Oregon under what should be favorable circumstances in Los Angeles. The NFL is unlikely to ever come calling again. And if it does, Kelly should not listen.

But if he’d stuck to coaching and coaching alone during his time in Philadelphia, things just might have been different for Kelly in the NFL.

But the Bulldogs showed Sunday they also can still play the championship-caliber defense that become so important in the program’s recent emergence as a national contender.

With Clemson’s Christian Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell, Kendall Joseph and Austin Bryant all returning for another season alongside teammate Dexter Lawrence — along with several other high-profile defensive linemen — the question must now be asked:

You can’t make that assessment now. Eight defensive linemen went in the first round of the 1985 NFL Draft, which produced Hall of Famers Bruce Smith and Chris Doleman along with edge-rusher Kevin Greene. The 2011 NFL Draft produced 11 first-round picks on the defensive line, and seven of those players, including Marcell Dareus and J.J. Watt, have been selected to the Pro Bowl. Still, the potential for greatness in that 2019 class is off the charts.

With the NFL’s catch rule being what it is, there’s a very good chance this one wouldn’t have stood on review.
Typically, the Panthers would want an interception to stand. But in this case, it lost the Panthers 16 yards of field position in crunch time. An incomplete pass would have been much better for Carolina.

Through our regular presence here, we have been able to engage with this market, and it’s really been able to stabilize us in Jacksonville in many ways.

The franchise, in general, has been a lot stronger Dirk Nowitzki Jersey as a result of our presence over here.

Since the Jags made their first visit to the capital in 2013, their reputation in the U.K. has received a significant boost, with frequent matches and various community projects helping them emerge as London’s team.

Our fan base has really grown, Naqi added. When we started out over here, we were unsurprisingly a very small-market team. We were probably 31st or 32nd in popularity, and we’re now the eighth-most-popular team in the U.K.

We’re starting to see that there is a real level of engagement with our team and that the folks in the U.K. are really embracing us as their home team.

The AFC South outfit is contracted to play at least one home game a year at Wembley until 2020, when the venue’s current deal with the league expires.

SportsLine is utilizing its top experts to make picks in the areas they know best. It’s an All-Star cast that includes some of the top handicapping experts in the nation.

Here’s the lineup: Galin Dragiev gives his picks for the AFC Championship Game between the Patriots and Jaguars (27-13 NFL run, including a win with Patriots -13.5 last weekend); Micah Roberts makes his choice for the NFC Championship Game between the Vikings and Eagles (picked Philly and Minnesota to win last week); and Mike Tierney has locked in his picks for the over-under on each game (51-28 streak on NFL O/U picks).Limited Youth C.J. Miles Jersey
We’ll give one key part of the parlay away: Tierney is taking the over to hit in Vikings-Eagles.Limited Youth CM Punk Jersey
Sure, it’s a matchup of two of the top four defenses in the NFL, but Tierney has found several reasons to believe the total of 38 is far too low.

First off, the number is historically low. In fact, Tierney notes it’s the lowest total for a championship game in 13 years.

The Titans made important adjustments to switch to a more versatile running game in the second half of their comeback against the Chiefs, allowing Mariota more opportunities to keep the ball by dialing up more option-based plays. The strategy paid off in spades 锟斤拷 even as Kansas City crept closer to the line of scrimmage, Expect more of that Saturday evening in Foxborough.
Panic index: The Patriots’ worst performances against mobile quarterbacks came during a 2-2 start in which this team was still working out various kinks. Patricia’s defense has improved significantly since then 锟斤拷 and should be Christian Vazquez Womens Jersey much tougher for Mariota to figure out.

In Week 5, the Jaguars handed the Steelers their biggest loss of the season, a 30-9 smackdown in Pittsburgh. Leonard Fournette rushed for 181 yards and two touchdowns, and the Jacksonville defense shut down the Steelers’ offense.

Three months later, Roethlisberger said he wanted another shot at Jacksonville to prove that five interceptions wasn’t me in that game. Of course, one of the members of the Jaguars’ bold and outspoken defense warned him:

Giants general manager Dave Gettleman has visions for how New York will rebuild its team and prepare for the future at quarterback, but asserts his desire to keep Eli Manning at the position, sources told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.

The focus of the New York Giants’ coaching search has shifted to Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. The Giants are planning to schedule a second interview next week with Shurmur, sources told ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Chris Mortensen.Elite Kids Doug Gilmour Jersey
Del Rio has been prominent on Shurmur’s list of defensive candidates, and he is open to joining the presumptive Giants coach.

Elite Kids Tommy McDonald Jersey The Giants are planning to schedule a second interview this week with Shurmur, sources told ESPN. If Minnesota loses to the Eagles in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game, the Giants can negotiate or sign Shurmur immediately.